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Foliar feeding of citrus trees: All the benefits of using Haifa's fertilizers

 

Boost yield, reduced fruit drop and splitting and increased fruit size – those are just some the advantages using Multi-K

 
Plant Density : 350 – 425 tree/Ha.
Type of soil : Medium – Heavy.
Expected yield : 65 – 85 MT/Ha.
 
 
 

Nutrient removal in a ton of fresh fruit (Chapman, 1968)

 
Variety

Grams per ton of fresh fruit

N

P2O5

K2O

MgO

CaO

S
Orange

1,773

506

3,194

367

1,009

142
Mandarin

1,532

376

2,465

184

706

111
Lemon & Lime

1,638

366

2,086

209

658

74
Grapefruit

1,058

298

2,422

183

573

90
 
 
 
 

Foliar feeding recommendations for citrus

 
Time of application Suggested fertilizers Rate (%) No. of applic. Intervals
Flushing – maturing leafs Multi-fert 8-52-17

0.5

3 - 5

 10 days
Flowering initiation Multi-K

2

3 - 4

 Weeks
Late blooming Multi-K

1 - 2

1 - 2

 Weeks
After fruit set Poly-Feed 19-19-19

1 -2

6 - 8

 10 days
Fruit development By alternately Multi-K

2

4 - 6

 10 days
Multi-fert 22-11-22

1 - 2

4 - 6

 10 days
2-2.5 month before harvesting Multi-K or
Poly-K 13-5-42

2

2 - 3

 15 days

2

2 - 3

 15 days
1.5 month after harvest-flushing Magnisal 11-0-0+16

0.6

2 - 4 

 Week
 
 
Multi-K = 13-0-46 (Potassium nitrate)
Citrus trees benefit from Haifa’s products: boost yield, reduced fruit drop & splitting, increased fruit size, increased sweetness, extended fruit shelf life.
 
 
 

Foliar spraying with Multi-K

 
Treatment

Multi-K (kg)/applic.

Conc. (%)

Spray vol. (L/Ha)

Application time

No. of sprays
Nutrition

12-16

4

300-400

 Spring

1-3
To increase fruit size

12-15

4-5

300

 Spring-Summer

1-2
To reduce fruit drop

12-16

4

300-400

 After fruit-set

2-4
To reduce splitting and creasing

12-16

4-6

300-400

 Spring-Summer

3-4
To supress the population of Floarida wax

4-16

4

100-400

 Spring-Summer

1-2
 
 
 
 

Fertilization schedule

 
Fertilizer

Application time

Application no.

Total amount
Multi-K Spring to early summer

weekly

 400-650 Kg/Ha
Ammonium Nitrate During the season

weekly

 400-600 Kg/Ha
MonoAmmonium Phosphate Spring

1-2

 100 Kg/Ha
 
 
In case of magnesium dificiency it is recommended to spray with 2% Magnisal (Haifa's magnesium nitrate 10.5-0-0+15MgO in early spring.
This fertilization program should be adjusted according to leaf analysis.
 
 
 

Foliar feeding of young lemon trees with Multi-K (potassium nitrate)

Best source for K and N is Multi-K (potassium nitrate) which is fully soluble, has no detrimental chloride, and in which the uptake of K is synergistic with the nitrogen. Moreover, Multi-K helps to avoid salinity toxicity when the soil and/or the irrigation water are high in sodium and/or chloride.
 
 

No. of applications /year

Rate (%)

Spray volume (Lit./ha)

pH of spray solution

Interval between treatments

6 - 7

4 - 6

100 - 400

5.5 - 6.5

15 - 21 days
 
 
 
 

Please note:

  1. Please conduct appropriate experiments on a small scale before practicing it on a commercial basis.
  2. Please avoid spraying when the trees are under any sort of stress (water-logging, drought, heat, spraying of mineral oils, etc.).
  3. Spraying at these concentrations will not harm the flowering, which is also not so important until the trees are 4 years of age. Therefore, sprayings can be done regardless of the flowering waves.
  4. When pH is maintained as shown in the table this application can be combined with pesticides.
  5. When the trees are older and are bearing fruit regularly, if larger fruit gets a premium price it might be beneficial to spray the trees with Multi-K pHast, as shown in the table. This should be adopted as a commercial practice. Best timing for spraying at the fruit-bearing stage is when the fruitlets are 1-1.5 cm large. And, again, please conduct appropriate experiments on a small scale before practicing it on a commercial basis.
 
 
 

Citrus – foliar nutrient norms

 
Nutrient Normal Above normal Toxic Below normal Deficiency
 

(%)
N

2.4 – 2.5

2.5 – 2.8

> 2.8

1.8 – 2.3

1.7
P

0.11 – 0.14

0.15 – 0.17

> 70.18

0.08 – 0.09

0.08
K

0.9 – 1.5

1.5 – 1.8

> 71.8

0.59 – 0.6

0.59
Ca

3.5 – 6.0

7.60

-

2.5 – 3.5

2.4
Mg

0.35 – 0.5

0.5 – 0.75

-

0.25 – 0.35

0.24
 

(ppm)
Cu

5 – 20

20 – 40

> 740

4

3
Fe

60 – 150

-

-

-

-
Mn

40 – 150

250

> 7250

25

25
Zn

25 – 100

200

> 7200

15

15
B

40 – 200

300

> 7300

20

20